All Hopped Up and Ready to Go: All-Star Punks Honor Ramones at 50
Punk royalty gathered at Hollywood Forever Cemetery for the Official Ramones 50th Anniversary Tribute, an annual charity concert celebrating the influential New York band and benefiting the Ellison Medical Institute's cancer research. The headline act was Cretin Family, a newly formed supergroup featuring Blink-182's Travis Barker on drums, Rancid's Tim Armstrong, Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong and Ramones bassist CJ Ramone, who tore through a 20-song set opening with "Rockaway Beach" before a sold-out crowd.
The show featured a rotating cast of guest vocalists spanning generations, including Fred Armisen performing "Danny Says" and teenage band the Linda Lindas joining for "I Wanna Be Sedated" and "California Sun". John Travolta hosted the evening, which was organised by Linda Ramone, widow of guitarist Johnny Ramone, who died of prostate cancer in 2005 aged 55; the backstage area drew fellow musicians including Pat Smear and John 5 amid the cemetery's graves and mausoleums.
- Punk stars honoured the Ramones' 50th anniversary at a cemetery concert
- Supergroup Cretin Family featured Billie Joe Armstrong and Travis Barker
- Event raised money for cancer research, hosted by John Travolta